PRESS RELEASE

The Waterbus service suffered an incident on route to Usenge from Mageta island at 17:45 on 2 May 2020.

During rough weather the catamaran MV Ringiti was struck by a large wave, and the starboard hull was damaged. The crew safely evacuated the 12 passengers in lifejackets, and 5 crew followed. No lives were lost, and passengers were transported to hospital for a check up. No injuries were reported by passengers or crew after their visit to medical facilities.

The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority. Our ferries are designed and manufactured to international certified standards to be robust and safe in all conditions, and are fitted with regularly checked life-saving equipment. Our crews are KMA certified and have undergone STCW (‘Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping’), training in firefighting, survival at sea and first aid. We have completed 30,000 journeys since 2010 without incident.

The MV Ringiti capsized after the incident and is still afloat. We are working to return it to our docks, where we will conduct a thorough review to assess how and why this happened and to see if anything could have been done to avoid this. We will share regular updates on any findings in this review. My management team and I are in touch with all passengers on board ensuring they continue to receive the best care. We are aware of some social media posts on the incident with incorrect details.

The Waterbus team is available for any questions or clarifications on the above. Please contact us at info@waterbus.online, +254725465772, +254705424126 for WhatsApp or telephone calls.

UPDATE 05.05.2020

Following the successful retrieval of the MV Ringiti, we have begun conducting a thorough investigation with a panel of international marine safety experts to determine the cause of Saturday’s incident. We are also cooperating with local investigations being conducted by Kenya Maritime Authority, Kenya Coastguard and Kenya Police Service. 

Whilst these two investigations are ongoing we have removed from service our second ferry, MV Captain Dan, which has a similar construction to MV Ringiti.

We continue to check up on the 12 passengers and 5 crew to ensure they are ok and have offered counseling and medical check-ups if anyone that feels they need additional support.